Need a plan of attack

[solidwalnut]

Hey there--

I am new to the forum. I'm not new to taking care of pools, but I am far from an expert. I need some advise and a plan of attack for the summer.

I live in AZ with a 20k gal pool. Prob: CYA >140ppm, CH high (not tested, but been told). It's time to drain. Good to do every couple of years for both reasons. I know this would probably be the best approach, but for a few different reasons, we don't want to drain this year. We will plan on draining and refilling in the winter or spring.

Right now what is happening is that I am having to keep a high FC level due to the high CYA level. In the past few weeks, I have been brushing up against too low of FC resulting in the green stuff. But I seem to have found the right FC level, which is about 5-6ppm. The TA is really high, around 180ppm. The PH is good at around 7.5.

So, the question is: what would be a good plan of maintenance for the summer (if draining/refilling is avoided) so it's swimable? The water looks healthy, but it's more of a green sparkle than blue. BBB?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[ouachita]

Why don't you do a partial drain to lower your cya level and shock?

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

The only real reason to drain is due to high CYA, which you have. Since you do not have the SWG any more, get the CYA down around 50ppm (drain 2/3 and refill). Oh, but now I see you do not want to do this ... that is going to make life tough.

For a CYA of 140ppm, the MINIMUM you should ever let the FC get is 11ppm or you run the risk of algae starting. Since your water is not clear, you need to go through the shock process (pool-school/shocking_your_pool) which is going to require maintaining the FC up around 56ppm if you extrapolate out this chart: pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock

I suggest a lot of reading in Pool School and ordering one of the recommended test kits (get the TF-100 with the XL option because you are going to need it!!!)

Another thing that make this high CYA unmanageable is the fact that the pH test is not valid when the FC > 10ppm and yet your minimum is 11ppm.

 

[cramar]

Same old advice: read pool school (link in top right corner), a proper drop based test kit (no strips) and the pool calculator.
Thats all you need.

PS, it's sounds like your resigned to partially draining your pool on a regular basis - why? With proper testing and management you shouldn't need to drain it on a regular basis.

 

[duraleigh]

With proper testing and management you shouldn't need to drain it on a regular basis

OP lives in Arizona...usually the fill water is quite high in CH. Drain/refill is sometimes unavoidable out there unless he can use a water softener from the house for his refills.

Oh, yeah, they got those Gila Monsters out there too, I think.

 

[anonapersona]

How about you hook up all the rain gutters to the pool so you can capture rain the next time it hits. If you can get most of what hits the roof, that will really help to dilute the pool.

 

[jblizzle]

Rain? That is like 2 months away